Cloud & Service Management blog

Ahh...the first day
of the New Year! Here’s wishing you all a very happy and a prosperous New Year
2011.

It
is also the first day of the New Decade..…hmnn…10 long years ahead…..though it
sounds really long and a certain uncertainty in future too, it might just get
over before even knowing how we lived these 10 years. Hence, let’s make the
best out of it :-)

Last
decade saw a booming IT sector binding the world into a global-network which in
turn brought in a remarkable change in the lives we lived, with 'Social Media
ruling the world by end of decade' being the icing on the cake. Well, we never
know, this decade might just go bigger than the last. Believing more good
things will come in this decade, wish you all a fulfilling decade ahead :-)

If you're new to zEnterprise or even if you've had your system for a while, this is a great opportunity to listen to speaker Randy Scott discuss this topic (and there will be a live question-and-answer session as well as a future replay).

Here's a brief description of the webcast and we look forward to you attending:

This in-depth look at Tivoli Application Management for zEnterprise can help you:

Integrate end-to-end active and passive monitoring

View and monitor workloads for composite applications, physical and virtual machines, groups and response times

Use alerting capabilities for early detection of costly performance problems and outages

Rather, I was present at an ISM Simulator Workshop session in Washington DC.

My role was to videotape the workshop, with the intent of scaling it down into a 2-3 minute snippet that captures the essence of the session. And as I observed the 16 participants in 'Round 1', it all started to make sense.

The participants were playing the roles of employees at a hypothetical shipping company. They were broken out into four teams, representing four different parts of the company - senior management, line of business owners, service desk personnel

and technical services.

On the screen at the front of the room was a birds-eye projection of the company, including a series of dashboards and schedules, which provided the participants with essential real-time information such as service level data, shipments completed, locations where outages were occurring, and the amount of money that the company was making (or losing!) at any given moment.

The goal of the 'game' was to maximize profits for the company in the face of systems that were continuously breaking down. To do so, each team had to establish its own processes, and effectively collaborate with the other teams so as to create an efficient overall system.

The first round was anything but efficient, as the teams tried desperately to get their own houses in order while they watched all the missed shipments, unresolved outages, and lost revenue on the screen. The sense of frustration was obvious, but the group pressed on.

At the end of the round, the facilitator conducted an assessment of the business by reviewing bottom line data with the group, and discussed best and worst practices that the teams had implemented. Clearly, there was a better way to run this business, and the group was determined to figure it out in short order.

Somewhere in the middle of Round 2, I began to sense that the group was turning the corner. There were a lot more 'aha" moments, a lot less shouting across the room, flip charts were being utilized, and there seemed to be a great deal of relevant information being shared across the different teams.

After three hours and three rounds, the group was both exhausted and exhilarated. They were able to implement an efficient process that yielded a positive bottom line.

But more importantly, they now had a much more tangible understanding of the role that Service Management plays in aligning IT with the business.

I had a chance to interview several of the participants after the session, and they were all effusive in their praise for the workshop. Clearly, the workshop far exceeded their expectations, and they were anxious to share their experience, and apply some of the best practices at their own organizations.

As a new member of the ISM marketing team, the workshop was also a great experience for me. Besides meeting some very interesting IBM customers and partners, I now have a much firmer grasp of the value of Service Management.

Incidentally, we will be running a simulator workshop for customers at Pulse on Sunday, February 27th. If you are interested in attending, please contact David Ojalvo as soon as possible, because seating is limited to the first 20 respondents.

If you are not able to get with us at Pulse, fear not...the ISM Simulator Workshop is portable in nature, and can be hosted at any customer site for a group of your employees. It's a great educational and team building exercise! For more information on this, visit our web page, and contact your local sales rep.

It probably goes without saying, but service management means different things in different industries: Service management can help banks improve customer service, drive business model efficiency and manage operational risk. Service management can help government agencies reduce complexity and waste and deliver services more effectively to the citizens who rely on them. And communications service providers need innovative service management solutions to address the limits of the backbone, a highly competitive environment and customer loyalty.

The list goes on, but in all cases, rendering better service management in any given industry means weighing and balancing different complexities—as well as the leading solutions and strategies best suited to address them.

Pulse 2011 provides the perfect venue for you to not only learn about service management for your industry - but to actually see it. And seeing is believing, after all. The Pulse Expo Center will offer demos in groups, designed to explore the most pressing needs service management professionals face in six different industries:

Smarter Buildings

Intelligent Site Operations

Communications Service Providers

Smarter Energy & Utilities

Integrated Service Management for Banking/Insurance

Smarter Healthcare

In addition to these clusters of industry demos, you'll also have access to industry-centric demos taking place elsewhere in the event. Not to mention tons of industry-specific sessions and activities - Check out the Pulse 2011 Sample Agenda Builder and see for yourself. Choose "Search by Industry" and select your industry.

Business Partners are invited to join IBM in Las Vegas, Nevada February 27 - March 2, 2011, for Pulse 2011. There are activities throughout the event that are geared to help Business Partners "Be Bold. Be Tivoli." in 2011.

IBM Tivoli Business Partner Summit at Pulse: Sunday, February 27

Kick off your Pulse experience with the exclusive Business Partner Summit. The Summit will focus on selling in a Smarter Planet through a general session offering insights and directions from IBM Software executives, as well as information-packed Insight and Breakout sessions that help you maximize business opportunities. The Summit will provide the information you need to be bold in 2011!

2011 Tivoli Business Partner Awards

Tivoli is again pleased to invite Business Partners to submit nominations for the 2011 Tivoli Business Partner Awards. Nominations are open through February 4, 2011. Award details, criteria and nomination form are available here.

Business Partner Café

The Business Partner Café is the perfect place to network with other Business Partners, meet with the IBM team to build future plans, and hold one-on-one meetings. Grab a cup of coffee and learn more about marketing programs and best practices, tools and tips, and available resources.

Pulse 2011 Expo sponsor

Don't delay, there is still time to sign up for sponsorships. The Expo is the heart of the conference and provides a great environment to connect with thousands of conference attendees.

Pre-Pulse Smarter Sales Academy, February 25 - 26

This year's Academy will once again focus on interactive selling education sessions designed to assist you in planning and executing effectively in 2011. Register now!

Tivoli whiteboard workshops

Participate in these workshops and learn to deliver the Tivoli overall Integrated Service Management strategy, as well as focused solution strategies.